This Is Why There Are Colorful Circles on Your Food Packaging

Hunker may earn compensation through affiliate links in this story. Learn more about our affiliate and product review process here.

From wordy ingredients to certifications and symbols, there is a lot to decipher on food packaging. For instance, did you know that the colorful circles on your packaging actually mean something?

Advertisement

In a TikTok video shared by Design Taxi and posted by @sonya.gonzalezmier, who works in food marketing, it is revealed that the circles are actually color control patches. "We need them because the colors that you see on the packaging are not actually the colors that we're printing," she says.

Video of the Day

Video of the Day

To achieve the final packaging, printers layer different hues on top of each other. These are the colors you're seeing inside the circles. By looking at these control patches, one can see whether or not a certain shade is off. If it is, that means that the final color also won't be correct.

Advertisement

Dillon Mooney, a technical consultant for Printing Industries of America, told Slate that the colors you'll typically see are black, cyan, magenta, and yellow. Other hues that appear might include the food brand's signature shades. These are also known as "process colors."

So next time you see vibrant dots on your food packaging, know that they were used to create some seriously iconic packaging colors.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Report an Issue

screenshot of the current page

Screenshot loading...